The US is making fresh efforts to stop the flow of asylum seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border illegally.

According to reports, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen is on ground in Nigeria this weekend, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has confirmed, as the government makes fresh efforts to stop the flow of asylum seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border illegally.

U.S Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has told Eric Sorensen his government has raised the issue of asylum seekers from Nigeria entering Canada illegally from the U.S. with the Nigerian government and U.S. government to decrease illegal crossings.

Hussen announced last week that he would be heading to the West African nation to meet with government officials, but the specific dates were not provided.

He said, “We’ve raised this with both the Nigerian government, and (Hussen) is doing that again this week, and also with the American government,” said Goodale in an interview this weekend on The West Block. But we need more, and will continue to press on both of them because it’s their responsibility to help us stop this unconventional and obvious circumvention of Canadian law.”

Goodale said Ottawa has also begun efforts to reach out to diaspora communities in the United States affected by the termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for citizens of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Canada is making it clear to those people that if they choose to come north and cross the border between checkpoints, they’ll be arrested and subject to security screening and extensive vetting before being approved for asylum, Goodale reiterated.

Goodale acknowledged that the number of people crossing the border this summer will likely be higher than last year. The government has made it clear to the United States that it wishes to negotiate potential updates to the Safe Third Country Agreement, he added, and “they are considering if they are interested in having a negotiation.”

A loophole in the agreement is at the heart of why so many asylum seekers are heading for illegal crossing points rather than showing up at designated, legal ones. Approximately 7,500 asylum seekers crossed between checkpoints between January and April, and the number continues to increase daily.